Dutch filmmaker Peter Hoogendoorn gets personal during the interview, opening up about Three Days of Fish, which opened the Crystal Globe competition at the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2024.
“The title of the film, Three Days of Fish (Dire Dagen Vis), is based on a proverb in Holland, where they say guests and fish can only stay fresh for three days. So, it is a metaphor for how long we can be together before our own egos come up. In the beginning, we try to limit expectations, but after a while, our true personalities emerge, and that’s what this film is based on,” explains Peter.
The Dutch filmmaker doe not want to call this film autobiographical as he feels that in reality, his relatives might think differently from what is shown in the film. In fact, he states that he wanted to convey how difficult it is to share moments, and before you know it, it can be the last time. If you only see each other for a few days, then, as he thought about the consolation of his father, who has been living in Portugal with his Cape Verdean wife for a long time, it became more poignant.
“So, my father only visited Holland for a few days, and at that point, I had a fear of flying and other fears related to trains, so I could only see him for a few days. Then I recognized the fear of losing loved ones and how to deal with it. Even if they’re still around, it’s still difficult; sometimes you behave in ways that, in hindsight, seem foolish. You fall into the same trap every time. That’s what touched me, and I thought, oh, the consolation is like a road movie with our father walking from place to place and the son just following,” explains Peter. “And the following was also for me a feeling of love because otherwise, why would you want to be in these ordinary places? When I wanted to go to film school, I aimed to make trailers and horror films, but I could only get into film academy with a personal story about fear. I realized that people react more when I tell personal stories about my surroundings.”
According to Peter, the casting aspect was the scariest part of the production. “It’s about the chemistry between the two actors. Holland is, of course, a small country, and we don’t have actors who are specifically trained for film. Most theatre schools focus primarily on theatre, with only a small section dedicated to film acting. It was a long process, and after a while, we found Ton Kas to play the father. I recognized a lot of my own father in his behavior and the way he didn’t want to make the film because he didn’t want to make films anymore. He hates being on set, so I’m really glad he liked the script and wanted to do it. Then we saw Guido, and he was natural in a way.”
On choosing to shoot in black and white, Peter said, “There are multiple reasons, but for me, it was also because the film is a sort of memory of being together with your loved ones. When I think about the people I’ve lost in my life, it’s not the big events that I remember. It’s the small things, like where we were sitting, that are the most ordinary yet memorable aspects of being together. So, for me, the film is also about a memory of being together. It’s like having a photo album where you see tiny details like a table or an ashtray on the table. You remember these details. Another reason was that Rotterdam is so diverse, with a mix of old and new buildings and various colors. With black and white, we can focus more on the characters and concentrate on their interactions.“
For Peter, the most emotional scene was when he got to shoot in the house that belonged to his grandmother. “It was my grandmother’s house where I could find myself. The bath you see in the film was there when I was born, and that basement was where my creativity began. It was emotional to step into that house.”
Produced by Stienette Bosklopper and Maarten Swart, Three Days of Fish is competing for the Crystal Globe.
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